Talk to a Real Estate Lawyer

Enter Your Zip Code to Connect with a Lawyer Serving Your Area

Question:

I am dealing with serious financial trouble,
and I think that my bank is about to foreclose on a mortgage on my
property. I have heard that there are
grants to stop foreclosure, and if it is available, I definitely need help to
stop my foreclosure, because this property is where I live. Is there a group or government entity helping
foreclosure problems that I can contact?

Answer:

The national foreclosure problem has grown to
such an epidemic scale that there are indeed now federal, state, and local
government grant programs to help stop foreclosure, but not everyone is
eligible for grants to stop foreclosure.
In order to qualify, you need to be well behind in your payments (at
least several months), under immediate threat of foreclosure, recently
unemployed, or stuck in a deficit situation (owing far more on your mortgage
than the property is worth). While some
grants of cash are available for helping foreclosure defendants catch up their
monthly payments, most assistance involves some manner of required credit
counseling, requests for loan modification, and the development of payment
plans to ensure that all of a person’s obligations are settled. Unfortunately, government attempts at
foreclosure assistance are still disorganized and haphazard, and there’s no
single place to go to look for foreclosure help.

The federal Fair Housing Administration (FHA)
website can provide information on federal foreclosure help, but the majority
of foreclosure assistance is provided through local non-profit groups. A local attorney who deals with debt
collection defense, including foreclosure defense and bankruptcy, is probably
the most centralized source you will find for information on programs available
in your locality to help stop foreclosure.
If you have other, unsecured debt to handle as well, bankruptcy may be
an option to consider; although bankruptcy won’t ultimately prevent a creditor
from selling the subject property, the bankruptcy court can exercise some
control to help stop foreclosure from being carried out in an arbitrary manner
and to give the debtor time to find a way to deal with the situation.